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This week was a smallish week again, though I got four new comics instead of only the 2-ish apiece the last couple weeks.

The two Super books. I almost want to wait on reading Super Sons until after Superman Reborn is done, but probably won’t. I already read Superman #19 and posted my thoughts on it). God Country was quasi-accidental, and I’m annoyed (yet again/as always) with variant covers crap (seems despite supposedly cutting back, every time I turn around, Image has stuff with variants out!)

I broke down and bought the $4.99 Star Trek: Deviations one-shot figuring maybe it’d be a "fun" read, but it wound up being rather blah to me, especially after reading the piece after the story about its genesis. And the waste of valuable pages for "sketches" and such involving a variant cover, rather than more pages of actual story. And three two-page segments about three otherStar Trek books IDW is currently publishing…all of which referenced something about 3 pages, yet each only had ONE page of actual "preview," and STILL only two including the page that’s nothing but an AD for each series.

On a higher note, taking advantage of a week of Half-Price Books coupons (but having waited til they got to 30% off an item), I snagged Superman in the FIfties, which I believe leaves me now only missing the In the Sixties volume.

I’ve become quite the fan of the Aliens stuff the last year-plus again, and this "art book" (for slightly less than two Marvel single issues) will more than outpace the time it’d even take to read those two Marvel issues, just reading captions and enjoying the art!

And because I didn’t want to risk "missing" it and it was already cheap enough to basically be a "waste" of a high-percent coupon, I snagged the Green Lantern volume, which puts me one closer to a complete run of these older ones. (Probably just in time for them to start doing those fat $20 ten-to-twelve-issue collections of Kyle’s run)…

This weekend was the (I believe 6th) annual Lake Effect Comic Con in Mentor, OH at the Great Lakes Mall (specifically the Atlas Cinema). This is a local one-day show, primarily a "dealer’s room," but also an Artists’ Alley, and a small slate of events–a couple panels, a costume/cosplay contest, etc. The event is organized by the owner of Comics and Friends, a comic shop in the mall (that I find it hard to believe has been there so long now!)

I’ve been to at least 4 of these now, with varying degrees of luck finding stuff I’m looking for. One year I found a bunch of X-Men and Valiant stuff; another year I happened across an X-Men omnibus for 60% off cover minutes after walking in and bought it and walked out before I could spend more money. I believe it was last year I scored several action figures I’d been looking for.

I went in hoping to find a discounted Thanos vs. Hulk paperback or X-O Manowar deluxe hardcover vol. 1 and barring those, perhaps a Thanos Mighty Mugg or perhaps the Hulkbuster Iron Man Marvel Select, or maybe some cool quarter-bin issues or Power Rangers blind-box mystery vinyls, etc. Sadly, the only real bargain bins I saw were Comic Heaven and I have access to that store anytime I’m (frequently) in the area.

But one dealer had a bunch of old toys, mostly loose, as well as several classic board games…and Munchkin.

I’ve been putting the newer Munchkin Legends in my cart at Target and then jettisoning the thing before I check out for over a year, and often considering some of the expansions elsewhere when I come across them (and not getting those for lack of having the core/original game).

Finding this "classic edition" for only $12 was a great find, and means I can at least play the game itself.

I came across this Minimates Enterprise (with Captain Kirk) and picked it up, put it back, picked it up again, put it back, walked away, and then back to actually get it. Despite being a Star Trek fan, until now I’ve never actually had an Enterprise, and for the price (and the branding), I decided this is worthwhile and will definitely get some shelf space.

There’s also the coolness factor for me that it’s the Original Series and not based on the new movies version. While I like the new movies, I like the "classic" stuff and it seems there’s much more available than for the new films.

And I was recently remembering the classic/original Pokemon stuff, and finding the complete original mini-series for only $3 was well worthwhile.

With these three items, I figured I had spent enough and didn’t need to go looking for more to spend money on just for the sake of spending money; and since I hadn’t really seen anything particularly eye-catching or promising…that was that.

I was in and out in under a half-hour, spending only about what I’d usually spend in a typical weekly comic shop run, so I did well, and walked out with half my "budget" still in-pocket, which itself can now go to this week’s new comics.

I’ve been hearing about these “Lootcrate” things for a few months, but only recently really had ’em brought to my fuller attention. And with the advertising push for the September crate–the month’s theme being “Galactic”–I gave in and decided to go ahead and order one.

So my first Lootcrate arrived this week…I don’t know what size box I was truly expecting, but this was not a bad size at all.

And at first dig-through, I’m pretty content with my “loot.” One of those blind-pack “mystery mini” figurines (Malcolm Reynolds…so not quite so “blind” in terms of this month’s crate). A Lootcrate-exclusive Tribble. A RetroAction figure from the Alien wave (I got Ripley…I was expecting the Alien itself, so kinda disappointed there. Not really sure what to make of the other stuff…not particularly impressed with the other inserts.

But I’d have to say the Tribble and the Mal Reynolds mini are largely worth it by themselves…the Ripley/Alien figure makes the dollar value worthwhile. I figure the Alien figure would be $10, the Tribble would probably be at least $5-$9 if not $10, and the mystery mini would be at least $6.

All in all, not bad, and while I may not be overly “excited” by what I’ve got, they’re cool to have, and I look forward to finding out what October’s theme will be.

Over the weekend, my friend Lonnie put nearly any “convention haul” to shame with a box and bag o’ Stuff he gave me. While we’d talked about a number of the things, he had a particular surprise for me, that I now need to figure out exactly where I’m gonna keep it:

So, a couple weeks ago, I was amazed to see that Walmart was “pre-selling” Iron Man 3‘s blu-ray the SAME WEEKEND that the movie opened in theaters.

Now, this past Sunday morning, I saw where Best Buy is doing the same with Star Trek. The movies JUST OPENED THEATRICALLY! And these retailers are selling what they don’t even have in-stock, don’t even KNOW WHEN they’ll have in stock?!? And heck, they don’t even list PRICING…probably a deposit of some sort, locking you into a purchase, whatever they decide to charge when the product is eventually produced and released.

Personally, I’m waiting for the Enterprise model/case at Target again that I missed out on with the 2009 Star Trekfilm. If I could be guaranteed for a reasonable price that “exclusive case” I might give in to the disgustingness of a presell. But to just generically offer an empty, generic case? Ugh.

Oh, but I guess they’re selling “bonus” or “exclusive” “CONTENT,” which I can’t imagine amounts to more than a few SECONDS of trailer/teaser material. And frankly, I am totally not the target audience, because I am NOT a fan of a lot of online video stuff: I prefer to read, or have it on a tv screen, and prefer to avoid trailers and such as much as I can (I enjoy them before theatrical viewings of films, but care nothing for every last “teaser” or “trailer” the moment it “leaks” online).

I guess the retailers weren’t getting enough sales by offering stupid “exclusives” and giftcards as “bribes” to lure “loyalty” from customers. Now they’ve gotta be “the first” to offer to take your deposit money to lock you into buying the product from them months before it’ll even be available.

I didn’t think anything would beat the playable Pac Man Google Doodle awhile back, but this sure came darned close!

I was amused enough simply at seeing the letters dressed as Star Trek characters…but I was enthralled when I realized you could PLAY.

If you clicked on ‘o’ it zoomed in to spotlight her:

And if you clicked on the computer it lit up and made familiar Star Trek-y-computer sounds. Then click the doors to the right and you go into the Transporter Room:

And when you clicked on the bin in the upper left…Tribbles come pouring out!

Since that made things a little bit crowded, click on the Transporter computer at the right:

…and e and o are transported to fight a Gorn:

You could bean the Gorn with the rock, the branch, and the classic weapon of last resort. With the Gorn defeated, you’d return to the bridge, and then see the view of Space to the sound of the classic theme:

And thus an episode ended, with the Enterprise continuing on her journey.

…and then it would pull up a search results page on Star Trek The Original Series. Someday, I’ll watch the series in full, perhaps. Someday.

The Rest of the Stack is my general mini-review coverage of new comics for any given week. It’s in addition to (or in place of) full-size individual reviews. It’s far less formal, and more off-the-top-of-my head thoughts on the given comics than it is detailed reviews.

ANGEL & FAITH #3

Angel and Faith continue the search for Mohra blood, and though the two find themselves at odds with one another, they do make a pretty good team. By issue’s end, they find themselves facing a threat more powerful than they imagined–and though he doesn’t yet know it, Angel’s in greater danger than even he knows. Three issues in, and I’m not yet finding the overall story. of course, if memory serves this is a 24-issue series, so we’re a mere 1/8th in so far. The story doesn’t seem to be really shaping up in a big way yet–but we’re getting plenty of smaller moments. The art continues to do a good job showing the characters as themselves, with a hint of the actors but not slavishly modeled after the human counterparts. I like that this is steeped in established continuity, and that for a licensed comic, it holds at $2.99 rather than the $3.99 so many others have embraced. I don’t know that this is in itself a jumping on point…but if you want to jump in and get your feet wet, snag this and the previous couple issues. I imagine this’ll be neatly collected into 4 6-issue volumes, so halfway in, may also be as well served to wait for the collected edition. (7/10)

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #2

I’m definitely liking the whole “in from the beginning” this title’s letting me do. I’m intrigued by where things are going to go…but the issue itself is rather forgettable. Ronnie and Jason each are “a” Firestorm, and they’ve fused at least once into this “Fury” creature. Whether they can do that at will or will fight to avoid becoming it remains to be seen. This issue wastes no time cutting the characters completely loose from their established lives–which at least at this point has me a little wary–it seems this might be veering off a little quick from what I’d hoped for in the book. We do seem to have a front-running for supporting cast member, but it’s hard to tell for certain. I’ll be back for #3, but I had the rather disturbing thought of just how easy it would be to passively shed this book from my pull list without missing it much. I enjoy it as I read it, but it’s not all that stand-out impressive in and of itself. (6.5/10)

STAR TREK (IDW) #2

While I would be irked to see classic ‘Trek episodes adapted into 6 issue arcs featuring this version of the characters…I can’t help but wonder if two issues is enough space. I thought for sure I was in for a 3-6 issue arc when the first issue wasn’t in and of itself a complete adaptation. The crew rallies and deals with their threat here. and before long the Enterprise is back off on its continuing mission. The story’s solid enough–and while I can’t decide what would be an ideal size for each adaptation, I continue to really enjoy the concept of experiencing classic Trek through the filter of the 2009 characters. Unfortunately, I’m already guessing that nothing truly major or unexpected will happen with the characters in this series–which makes this a rather “safe” sort of series, where sure, we’ll get the twists of this cast, but ultimately the toys are all going to stay in the toybox for the next movie, so there seems little chance of major character beats. The $3.99 cover price doesn’t help, either. While this is one of only about 3 $3.99 books to make my recent cuts…when I thought this had NOT actually been pulled for me, it didn’t bother me–so for better or worse, this is one of the books I could most easily “give up,” especially with the notion of just getting the collected volumes. (7/10)

TEEN TITANS #2

I didn’t get nearly the thrill out of this issue as I did the opener. Which isn’t to say this was bad or anything, but it lacked something the first issue had. I’m not sure what to make of this story so far–but the whole “let’s gather a group of potential victims together to strike back before the group chasing them can get any others” seems somehow rather cliche and overly familiar. This ‘Skitter’ character isn’t interesting to me, so whether she returns or not, I don’t much care. That she may be part of the new lineup really doesn’t thrill me…but then, this is only the second issue. It’s kinda crazy to think about what now-long-established favorites weren’t exactly embraced the moment they first appeared. Still…I think my enthusiasm at the New 52 has waned a lot more (and faster) than anticipated. Maybe I’ll force myself to stick with what titles I chose to go beyond #1 with for their first arcs…or at least, through the 3rd issues beginning tomorrow. (7/10)

THE WALKING DEAD #90

Hard to believe this is another arc down (at least, if we’re going with “arc” as being “another 6 issues.”) I’m amazed at the way the human stuff gets played up, the interactions between the cast. As I’m presently re-reading the earlier volumes, it’s also kind of amazing to see how much has changed, and that much of the key stuff that so defined this series for me, the most powerful moments, are mostly in the first half of what we have so far. At issue 45 we were in the midst of that story where we were told no one was safe, and saw horrific deaths of some beloved characters. Having been desensitized to that a bit, I’ve yet to really care much about new characters since, even while seeing these longer-term characters evolve along the way. This issue IS the end of the next 6 issues, and the cliffhanger is something I saw coming a couple pages before getting to it, though I don’t know I truly EXPEcTED it. It definitely holds a lot of potential, though it could be a major developing point, or just as easily little more than a moment given extra attention. Still…I’m enjoying this version as much as I’m enjoying the tv version, and thankful they’re separate entities. (8/10)